21. Who is the head of Empowered Group of Ministers constituted by the Government to oversee the corporatization of Ordnance Factory Board?
[A] Nirmala Sitharaman
[B] Amit Shah
[C] Narendra Modi
[D] Rajnath Singh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Rajnath Singh]
Notes:
The Government of India has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers headed by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to oversee and guide the entire process of corporatization of Ordnance Factory Board.
The Union Government recently announced that Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – a subordinate office of Defence Ministry would be converted into one or more 100 % Government owned corporate entities.
22. Who represented India in the virtual Meeting of Labour and Employment Ministers of G-20 nations?
[A] Piyush Goyal
[B] Santosh Gangwar
[C] Nirmala Sitharaman
[D] Jitendra Singh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Santosh Gangwar]
Notes:
Union Labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar represented India in the virtual Meeting of Labour and Employment Ministers of G-20 nations.
The G20 meet focussed on the G20 Youth Roadmap 2025 and discussed measures to curb the impact of Covid-19 on the Labour market. The meet also identified indicators relating to youth for the first time.
23. Which country has carried out the first nationwide test of its civil alarm systems?
[A] United States
[B] Russia
[C] Germany
[D] France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Germany]
Notes:
Germany has recently carried out the first nationwide test of its civil alarm systems since the end of the Cold War.
The country has also newly created National Warning Day, or Warntag, which is to be observed every year on September 10. Several alarms were sounded to alert the public to create the awareness about the measures to be taken in the backdrop of a national emergency.
24. India recently voted in favour of a COVID-19 related resolution in which forum?
[A] ASEAN
[B] UNGA
[C] IMF
[D] World Bank
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [UNGA]
Notes:
India has voted in favour of a COVID-19 resolution in the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), along with 168 nations.
The resolution reaffirms international cooperation to respond to COVID. It also acknowledges the WHO’s leadership role during the pandemic. The U.S. and Israel voted against the resolution while Ukraine and Hungary abstained.
25. Israel has agreed to establish diplomatic ties with which nation, as per the statement of the U.S.?
[A] India
[B] Russia
[C] Bahrain
[D] North Korea
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Bahrain]
Notes:
A joint statement has been issued by USA, Israel and Bahrain which states that Israel and Bahrain have agreed to establish full diplomatic ties.
This is an outcome of a normalisation agreement between Israel and Bahrain which comes after a similar agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Earlier, an Israeli delegation was carried in the first direct commercial flight to UAE.
26. Who has been elected as the new head of the Japan’s ruling party?
[A] Yoshihide Suga
[B] Shinzo Abe
[C] Kazushige Ugaki
[D] Tanaka Giichi
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Yoshihide Suga]
Notes:
Yoshihide Suga has been elected as the new head of Japan’s ruling party. It is almost certain that he would be the next Prime Minister of Japan.
Last month, the incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation for reasons of ill health. Yoshihide Suga is said to be a close ally of Mr Abe and likely to continue his predecessor’s policies.
27. The phase 3 of Back to Village (B2V) programme has been launched in which State / UT?
[A] Delhi
[B] Jammu and Kashmir
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] Kerala
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Jammu and Kashmir]
Notes:
The Phase-III of Back to Village (B2V) programme has been announced by Jammu and Kashmir administration to commence from October 2 for a period of 10 days.
Phase-I of the programme was launched to understand the people’s grievances. The phase 2 focused on the devolution of powers to Panchayats in the Union Territory. The phase 3 aims at grievance redressal.
28. Who has been elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha?
[A] Om Birla
[B] Harivansh Narayan Singh
[C] Kanimozhi
[D] Manoj Jha
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Harivansh Narayan Singh]
Notes:
The candidate of National Democratic Alliance and Janata Dal (United) MP – Harivansh Narayan Singh has been re-elected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman by a voice vote.
This is the second time he has been selected as the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He defeated the opposition candidate Manoj Jha of Rashtriya Janata Dal.
29. Which state government has signed a MoU with SIDBI, to provide market support to its 35 lakh MSMEs?
[A] Tamil Nadu
[B] Gujarat
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Uttar Pradesh
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Gujarat]
Notes:
The state government of Gujarat has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Small Industries Development Bank (SIDBI).
Under this deal, the state aims to increase self-reliance and provide capacity building and market support to the 35 lakh Micro-small-medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the state. Earlier, Rajasthan had partnered with SIDBI to develop MSME ecosystem.
30. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan – Insurance Scheme for Health Workers has been extended for how many days?
[A] 30 days
[B] 60 days
[C] 120 days
[D] 180 days
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [180 days]
Notes:
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for Health Workers has been extended for a period of 180 days.
It is a central sector scheme that provides an insurance cover of Rs.50 lakh to health workers who would have direct contact with COVID 10 patients. The scheme was initially launched on March 30th this year for a period of 90 days. It was earlier extended to a further period of 90 days till 25th September.